Stopping Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel not as easy as it sounds

Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel passed for 253 yards and ran for 92 in last season’s 29-24 win against Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Manziel and the Aggies host the Crimson Tide on Saturday.

The Associated Press

By Aaron SuttlesSports Writer

Published: Tuesday, September 10, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, September 9, 2013 at 11:50 p.m.

They seemed resigned to the fact that they’re not going to completely stop Johnny Manziel, and, from a practicality standpoint, that’s a good place to start for Nick Saban and his defense.

The goal is keeping the Texas A&M quarterback in check, not letting him race the Aggies out to another 20-0 lead.

“The guy’s going to make plays,” Saban said. “He’s a good player. I think what you try to do, though, is don’t allow him to make plays because of what you did incorrectly on defense. That’s where the discipline part comes in.”

While seemingly all the offseason headline-grabbing news Manziel made involved his behavior off the field — the NCAA investigation, his tweets, his dismissal from the Manning Passing Academy — Manziel made his name with his play between the lines, and he’s not missed a beat since his first-half suspension in the first game of the season.

The Heisman Trophy winner went 6 of 8 for 94 yards and three touchdowns against Rice in the Aggies’ season opener. In his first full game, against Sam Houston State the week after, he completed 28 of 41 passes for 403 yards and three touchdown in addition to a rushing score.

His calling card is his ability to extend plays.

“It’s easier said than done,” junior safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix said of stopping Manziel. “He can extend plays, and once he gets out of the pocket, he can run, he can run the other way then throw the ball 20 yards downfield. You have to keep him in the pocket.”

Manziel ran for 92 yards against the Crimson Tide in 2012, but it was his 253 yards passing and two touchdowns that made the difference in the game.

“We have a tremendous amount of respect for him as a passer,” Saban said. “His passing statistics certainly show that he’s a very effective passer and they’re very effective in their passing game, and he does a good job of implementing that passing game.

“I think trying to do a good job of not letting him get in positions where he can make those plays and have the good discipline down the field to stay matched in your coverage and not start looking at the quarterback. I told our players, I said, there’s a lot of NFL games on Sundays. You want to watch the quarterback, go watch those games. But if you start watching this guy in our game, you’re going to get busted.

It happened in our game last year. We’ve got people covered pretty well, you look back at the quarterback and their receivers do a good job of extending the play and getting away from it. He finds them and makes big plays.”

<p>They seemed resigned to the fact that they're not going to completely stop Johnny Manziel, and, from a practicality standpoint, that's a good place to start for Nick Saban and his defense. </p><p>The goal is keeping the Texas A&M quarterback in check, not letting him race the Aggies out to another 20-0 lead.</p><p>“The guy's going to make plays,” Saban said. “He's a good player. I think what you try to do, though, is don't allow him to make plays because of what you did incorrectly on defense. That's where the discipline part comes in.”</p><p>While seemingly all the offseason headline-grabbing news Manziel made involved his behavior off the field — the NCAA investigation, his tweets, his dismissal from the Manning Passing Academy — Manziel made his name with his play between the lines, and he's not missed a beat since his first-half suspension in the first game of the season.</p><p>The Heisman Trophy winner went 6 of 8 for 94 yards and three touchdowns against Rice in the Aggies' season opener. In his first full game, against Sam Houston State the week after, he completed 28 of 41 passes for 403 yards and three touchdown in addition to a rushing score.</p><p>His calling card is his ability to extend plays.</p><p>“It's easier said than done,” junior safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix said of stopping Manziel. “He can extend plays, and once he gets out of the pocket, he can run, he can run the other way then throw the ball 20 yards downfield. You have to keep him in the pocket.”</p><p>Manziel ran for 92 yards against the Crimson Tide in 2012, but it was his 253 yards passing and two touchdowns that made the difference in the game.</p><p>“We have a tremendous amount of respect for him as a passer,” Saban said. “His passing statistics certainly show that he's a very effective passer and they're very effective in their passing game, and he does a good job of implementing that passing game. </p><p>“I think trying to do a good job of not letting him get in positions where he can make those plays and have the good discipline down the field to stay matched in your coverage and not start looking at the quarterback. I told our players, I said, there's a lot of NFL games on Sundays. You want to watch the quarterback, go watch those games. But if you start watching this guy in our game, you're going to get busted. </p><p>It happened in our game last year. We've got people covered pretty well, you look back at the quarterback and their receivers do a good job of extending the play and getting away from it. He finds them and makes big plays.”</p><p>Reach Aaron Suttles at aaron@tidesports.com or at 205-722-0229.</p>